Snowy Number Five
by AssasinNinja
Summary: In the dead of winter, Naruto reflects on his lost loves with Sakura, and how hurt he remains over the only one he ever truly cared about.


"I'm the king of the abyss, the god of black and shadow. I revel in darkness. I'm the destroyer of everything that is dear to me, I'm the murderer of love."

"God, don't be so dramatic." Sakura Haruno tossed a loose-hand of snow at Naruto Uzumaki, who was sitting across from her, his back against a cherry blossom tree.

It was winter, the season of loneliness and death, and it was hitting Naruto pretty hard.

"I'm just no good for anyone Sakura, I'm a martyr for the love of every other man on this planet, I have to fail so they succeed." He said, smiling only slightly at his mournful self-deprecation.

Sakura clamped her gloved hands over her ears, and squirmed laughing, "God, shut up! It's like you've turned into a teenage girl!"

"It's true though!" Naruto said, growing more serious, "I swear it's true, every woman I've ever tried to start a relationship with, has turned me down for another guy."

"Oh come on, not every woman!" Sakura rebuffed, still laughing a little bit, amused by Naruto's poetic depression.

"Every single one, Hinata," He pointed an accusing finger at Sakura, "The girl _YOU_ assured me was so in love with me, told me she was sorry but she was in love with Kiba!"

Sakura rolled her eyes and held up one finger, keeping track of Naruto's listing.

"Ino, who I asked on a whim and blind physical attraction, shot me down in favor of Choji. Choji!"

Sakura raised up another finger, "Two."

"Tenten, who was only sort of interested in, decided to go to dinner with one Rock Lee instead of me."

Another finger, "Okay, you've got something of an argument so far."

"After a mission with Temari, I asked her to a movie, only to have Shikamaru swoop in and take her off her feet."

Sakura was beginning to share in Naruto's depression, "That's four..."

"And the worse thing is, they all said the same damn thing, 'You're a great guy Naruto, and any girl would be lucky to have you.'" Naruto dropped the back of his head against the tree, staring straight up at the snow bleeding sky, "I guess all the girls I've met just aren't lucky enough for me."

He tried to laugh, but his sadness was not lost on Sakura. She dropped a gloved hand onto one of his knees, "I guess so, Naruto. Don't worry, you'll meet the right girl someday, I know it."

"Well, if she's out there, I don't want her."

Sakura laughed again, "What?"

"She can have someone else... the only woman I'll ever want is taken already. Let me suffer for my love."

"What's got you so melodramatic all of the sudden?" Sakura asked, her tone somewhat accusatory. She knew who Naruto was talking about it, and she hated when he blamed her for his loveless state.

"I've known true love and had it taken from me," He sighed, "I'm being honest, not melodramatic."

She kicked him with her snow boot, knocking his right foot away from his left. Her foot was hostile, but she recovered quickly with a soft voice, "Cut it out."

He looked at her, his eyes gleaming like the watery orbs sitting in the shallow sockets of the face of a kicked puppy. He had felt the full hostility of the kick, and Sakura's cover-up had done nothing to take away the hurt. He stared at her, an unrelenting glare full of betrayal.

She tried to meet his gaze with an equal intensity, but failed, "Well if you only loved one girl, why did you try to date so many other women?"

"You only really know if you love someone when you try giving your heart to others, and find that you love that someone above them all." Naruto said, standing up, "I can see I'm upsetting you."

She punched his leg, blinded by her anger, "Don't do this, I know what you're doing!"

"I'm just telling the truth!" He screamed.

"Shut up!" She screamed back, punching him again, twice. He tried to grab her arm as she swung, but he missed and she pulled back before punching with her other arm. Again he tried to grab her arm, but again he missed.

"Stop hitting me!"

She tackled his leg, "Stop talking!"

He did, and she sat there latched onto his leg, breathing slowly and heavily. Suddenly, he grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her off his leg.

"I'm sorry about this." He said, dropping to his knee.

Before she could ask what he was talking about, he pulled her lips against his. It was awkward, not unlike their friendship. Naruto didn't try to force his tongue into Sakura's mouth, or even maneuver his lips under one of hers. He just sat there, his lips pressed firmly onto Sakura's closed mouth.

He kept this up until he felt a numbing sensation in his jaw, and his head smacked hard against the base of the tree. He was laying flat except for his head, and he might have had a mild concussion, so he didn't at first realize that Sakura had punched him.

She was standing over him when he pieced everything together.

"I said I'm sorry." He whispered.

He noticed her cheeks were icy looking. It took him a few seconds to realize it wasn't ice, but water dripping down her face. She was crying.

"Shut up." She pounced on him, replacing her lips on his. She was definitely trying to make it a real kiss, one full of passion and swapped saliva, but Naruto was frozen in shock.

"I'm confused... wait." He said, and she pulled away from him, "Why the change of heart."

"It hurt me so much to hear you say those things, because I realized I had betrayed myself." She said, her tears still flowing, "It didn't take me more than a month of having someone else before I realized I've only ever wanted you... but as time wore on, I dug myself deeper and deeper. I can't stand it anymore, I'm ending it."

She went back to kissing him, but he still remained still, "You couldn't wait until after you ended it before jumping me?"

"You started it," She said, "I just can't resist you."


End file.
